Bath-house.



R. F. CASEY.

BATH HOUSE. APPLICATlOH FILED FEB- s. 1915.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

ATTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETERS ca, PHOTOLITHQ. WASHINGTON, D. C

RICHARD F. CASEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BATH-HOUSE.

riaarea.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, EH5.

Application filed February 6, 1915. Serial No. 6,500.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD F. CAsEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedBath-House, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved bathhousemore especially designed for use on rivers, bays and other waterways andarranged to provide a basin adapted to float independently of thebathhouse structure and the platform adjacent the basin to protect thelatter against heavy swells and waves and thus allow of keeping thebasin watertight.

In order to accomplish the desired result use is made of a wellsurrounded by a platform and having a skeleton or slatted bottom for thesurrounding water to pass into the well, and a basin freely fioatable inthe said well and access to which is had over the said platform.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothviews.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the bathhouse with parts shown in section;and Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 22 ofFig. 1.

In cities like New York, for instance, which are surrounded or are builtadjacent to more or less polluted rivers or other waterways and in whichpublic and private bathhouses are located on the waterway, it has beenfound advisable for sanitary reasons to prohibit the use of basinsopening into the waterway to prevent the polluted water from being usedfor bathing purposes. In consequence of this prohibition the bathhousesmust be provided with basins closed at the bottom and sides and whichare filled with pure water, which is emptied from time to time andreplaced with pure water. The bathhouses float on the waterway and areusually moored to a pier and hence are subjected to very severe poundinginduced by the wash of passing vessels, storms and other causes, andhence the bot tom seams of the large closed basins readily open andallow the polluted water from the waterway to seep into the basin andthus pollute the water contained therein, rendering it unfit for bathingpurposes. lVith the improvements presently described in detail the basinis protected against disturbances of the water in the waterway and itsseams are not liable to open.

The bathhouse structure consists essentially of a platform or a floor Afloatably supported in the waterway by pontoons B, preferably arrangedunderneath the platform on opposite sides. On the top of the platform Ais built a one or two story structure containing the usual cabins ordressing rooms 0 leaving an open gallery on the inner portion of theplatform adjacent the well D, the walls D of which are attached to theinner edge of the platform A. The bottom of the well D is formed ofslats E to allow the water of the waterway to pass into the well D, andin this well D extends a basin F having a slatted bottom and sides andadapted to be filled with pure water by the use of a pump G connectedwith a suitable source of water supply other than that of the waterway.The faces of the walls D of the well D are provided with verticallydisposed spaced rubbing pieces D for rubbing contact with the outerfaces of the basin F which latter floats independently of the platform Aand the object supported thereby. The basin F is provided with steps Hto permit the bathers to conveniently pass from the platform A into thebasin or out of the same. By the arrangement described, the basin F isprotected against pounding such as is induced by the wash of passingvessels, waves and the like, and hence the basin F can be readilymaintained in a water-tight condition.

In practice, the slats E extend beyond the opposite walls D of the wellD and under the pontoons B so as to support the same, the slats havingtheir terminals attached to sides I depending from the outer edges ofthe platform A adjacent the pontoons B. Slats E also extend under thebathhouse structure from one side I to the other, and the walls Dadjacent the inner sides of the pontoons B are extended under theplatform to the outer side edges thereof, as plainly indicated in Fig.1.

In order to regulate the relative floating ability of the bathhousestructure and the basin F, the pontoons B are filled with more or lesswater so as to allow the bathhouse structure to sink a desired distancein the water with a view to allow the basin F to fioat in the waterabove the open or slatted bottom of the well D. For this purpose thepontoons B are provided with water inlet openings at the bottom, and thetop of each pontoon is connected by a branch pipe J with a pipe Kconnected with an air compressor L mounted on the bathhouse structure toallow of pumping air into the pontoon B with a view to allow the waterto rise therein only to a desired predetermined depth. Thus by thearrangement described the bathhouse structure may be allowed to floathigher or lower in the water according to the amount of water desired inthe basin F to hold the latter normally out of contact with the openbottom of the well D. Air may be allowed to escape from any one of thepontoons B by the use of a suitable plug N in the top of thecorresponding pontoon, as indicated in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by the arrangement described thebasin F may be filled with water to any desired depth and the bathhousestructure may be allowed to float a desired depth in the waterway sothat the top edge of the basin F is practically at a level with theplatform A and the bottom of the basin F is above the slats E formingthe bottom of the well D.

The pontoons B may be filled with water or partly or wholly emptied bythe means usually employed, that is, by using a hand pump and a plug forclosing or opening the hole B. When the plug is removed the pontoonfills with water to a desired depth, after which the plug is replaced.If it is desired toempty the pontoon of some or all of the water use ismade of an ordinary hand suction pump inserted through a capped handhole B for pumping the water out of the pontoon.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. A bathhouse, comprising a well surrounded by a platform and having askeleton bottom, and a basin freely floatable in the said well andaccess to which is had over the said platform.

2. A bathhouse, comprising a bathhouse structure fioatable in a waterwayand provided with a well having a slatted bottom for the entrance of thewater from the waterway, and a basin fitting into and floatable in thesaid Well independent of the said bathhouse structure.

3. In a bathhouse, the combination of a bathhouse structure fioatable ina waterway and provided with a well having a slatted bottom, a platformsurrounding the said well, and a basin fitting into the said well andhaving a depth corresponding approximately to that of the said well.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for 4-. In a bathhouse, thecombination of a bathhouse structure fioatable in a waterway andprovided with a well having a slatted bottom, a platform surrounding thesaid well, a basin fitting into the said well and having a depthcorresponding approximately to that of the said well, and steps in thesaid basin and leading to the said platform.

5. A bathhouse, comprising a bathhouse structure floatable in a waterwayand provided with a well having a slatted bottom for the entrance of thewater from the waterway, a basin fitting into and fioatable in the saidwell independent of the said bathhouse structure, and means mounted onthe said structure for filling and emptying the said basin.

6. In a bathhouse, the combination of a bathhouse structure flotable ina waterway and provided with a well having a slatted bottom, a platformsurrounding the said well, vertically disposed spaced rubbing pieces onthe inner faces of the walls of the well, and a basin fitting into thesaid well and having its outer walls adapted to rub on the said rubbingpieces, the said basin being fioatable independent of the bathhousestructure.

7. A bathhouse, comprising a platform, a well attached to the saidplatform and surrounded by the same, pontoons floatably supporting thesaid platform, and a basin fioatable in water in the said wellindependent of the said platform.

8. A bathhouse, comprising a platform, a well attached to the saidplatform and surrounded by the same, pontoons floatably supporting thesaid platform, a basin floatable in water in the said well independentof the said platform, and means for filling the said pontoons with adesired amount of water to regulate the floating heights of the platformrelative to that of the basin.

9. A bathhouse, comprising a platform, a well attached to the saidplatform and surrounded by the same, pontoons fioatably supporting thesaid platform, a basin floatable in water in the said well independentof the said platform, means for filling the said pontoons with a desiredamount of water to regulate the floating heights of the platformrelative to that of the basin, and means forfilling the basin with waterto a desired height.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD F. CASEY.

z five cents each, by addressing the C'ommissioner of Patent f,Washington, D. 0.

